INDIA TOUR OF ENGLAND, 2025
Jofra Archer celebrates the wicket of Rishabh Pant © Getty
Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes’ strikes early on Day 5 at Lord’s saw England gain the upper hand in the third Test, before Chris Woakes left India reeling at 112 for 8 at Lunch in the chase of 193.
The three wickets late on Day 4 had given England a shot at a comeback, and the three in quick succession between Archer and Stokes on the fifth morning put the hosts firmly in charge. After being hit to the fence by Rishabh Pant a couple of times already, Archer sent the Indian’s off-stump cartwheeling and followed it with a passionate send-off. Stokes trapped the overnight batter, KL Rahul, trapped in front with a nip-backer. Given not-out on field, Stokes took the appeal upstairs and was validated when ball-tracking returned three reds.
In the very next over, Archer grabbed a low one-handed stunner in his follow-through to send back Washington Sundar off his own bowling before the all-rounder could even get off the mark. The collapse of 3 for 11 in the space of four overs left India tottering at 82 for 7.
That’s when Nitish Reddy joined hands with Jadeja to try and dig India out of that hole. The pair put their heads down for the hard grind, slowly building a partnership that brought India’s deficit down below 100 by the drinks break. After a series of communication breakdowns in their partnership in the first innings, the last-recognised batting pair showed marked improvement in their calling and running with the game on the line.
India went boundary-less for an 80-ball spell since Pant, but there was no shortage of fireworks in the middle. The fielders inside the ring kept constantly chirping to induce a mistake from the batters. Ball-watching while running for two, Jadeja ran into Brydon Carse and a war of words followed before Stokes got in to separate the two and avoid further aggravation.
Reddy, although, largely impressed with his solid defence to frustrate England for nearly an hour but Woakes struck at the stroke of Lunch to put England on the cusp. The all-rounder nicked off on 13 to leave India at 112 for 8, still needing 81 more for a series lead. England, meanwhile, are two strikes away.
Brief scores: India 387 & 112/8 (KL Rahul 39; Jofra Archer 3-41, Ben Stokes 2-34) trail England 387 & 192 by 80 runs
© Cricbuzz
